Seyyah performs folk and classical music from Asia Minor. Commanding performances by each ensemble member, as well as the ensemble as a whole, blur the lines between folk and classical in lively sets that are equally at home in the recital hall or the meyhane. Over the past few years Seyyah has emerged as one of New York's best representations of Asia Minor chamber music. Seyyah's ensemble members are some of the most visible musicians on the middle eastern music scene in the Mid-Atlantic and together they generate an important contribution to the middle eastern music scene in America. 

Tuesday June 25th
8:00pm - Seyyah 
9:00pm - Open Jam Session 
Admission: $10 
Doors at 7:30pm
SISTERS

You can RSVP Here!!

Jenny Luna- voice 
Eylem Basaldi- violin 
Lefteris Bournias- clarinet 
Kane Mathis- oud 
John Murchison- bass 
Shane Shanahan- darbuka 
Philip Mayer- riq 

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Music

Sami will be putting down his violin, in order to sing a concert of mid-20th century Egyptian classics and lesser-known gems originally performed by Umm Kulthum, Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, Layla Murad, Aziz Uthman, and Horeya Hassan. After a few light appetizers, the main course will be a full performance of Umm Kulthum's 1958 masterpiece composed by Riyad al-Sunbati: "Aruh li meen." 

Tuesday June 11th, 2019
8pm - Sami Abu Shumays 
9pm - Open Jam Session 
Admission: $10 
Doors at 7:30pm 
SISTERS

You can RSVP Here!!

Featuring: 
Sami Abu Shumays - vocals 
Brian Prunka - oud 
Zafer Tawil - qanun 
Johnny - riq 
Nezih - tabla 
Insia Malik - violin 
John Murchison - bass 

Sami Abu Shumays is an arab violinist & vocalist, and founder of the NYC-based group Zikrayat (www.zikrayatmusic.com). He developed the website www.maqamlessons.com and has taught Arabic music at workshops across the U.S. Along with Johnny Farraj, he is co-author of Inside Arabic Music, forthcoming from Oxford University Press. He is also an arts administrator, serving as deputy director of Flushing Town Hall (www.flushingtownhall.org), a multi-disciplinary cultural organization in Queens, NY.

Syrian-born singer and actor Eden Zane, a "baritone [who] conveyed romance, elegance and gusto” (The New York Times), will present an Arabic collection of all-time favorite songs from Melhem Barakat, Abd Elhalim Hafez & Fahd Ballan, as well as contemporary popular hits. 

Tuesday, May 28, 2019
8:30pm - Eden Zane 
9:30pm - Open Jam Session 
Admission: $10 
Doors at 7:30pm 
SISTERS

You can RSVP Here!!

Featuring: 
Eden Zane (vocals) 
Zafer Tawil (oud, percussion) 
John Murchison (qanun) 
Insia Malik (violin) 
Marouan Allam (bass) 
Johnny Farraj (percussion) 

Growing up in a musical family, Eden found his talent for singing while witnessing music-making at band rehearsals and live performances from a very young age. His passion, innate musicality, and velvety-disarming vocals placed him on prime stages like Lincoln Center, GlobalFEST and Joe’s Pub.

We are happy to welcome Atlas Maior to the Brooklyn Maqam Hang as one stop of their east coast tour. Austin, Texas based band "Atlas Maior" makes original music informed by Jazz, Arab, Turkish and Latin American musical traditions. 

8pm - Atlas Maior 
9pm - Open Jam Session 
Admission: $10 
Doors at 7:30pm 
SISTERS

You can RSVP Here!!

Featuring: 
Josh Peters - oud 
Joshua Thomson - saxophone 
Dan Kurfirst - percussion 

Atlas Maior creates original music that combines elements of Progressive Jazz, Middle Eastern, Latin American, and Indian music traditions. Band members Joshua Thomson (alto saxophone, flutes), Josh Peters (oud), Charlie Lockwood (oud), and Ted Camat (drums, percussion) create a unique sound that balances intimate moments of sincerity with powerful melodies and incendiary rhythmic passages. Atlas Maior writes original melodies exploring maqamat (the Middle Eastern modal system) and harmonic progressions found in American jazz. The group composes with a wide variety of rhythms and traditional percussion instruments including the Indian tablas, Middle Eastern dumbek, Peruvian cajón, and Brazilian pandeiro. 

Atlas Maior's upcoming album Riptide will be the group's 5th studio release, following Keyif (2015), Palindrome (2014), Four Shades (2012), Atlas Maior EP (2011), all receiving positive reviews and media placement from Public Radio International, KUTX, Austin’s National Public Radio affiliate network, All About Jazz, World Music Central, UTNE Reader, Midwest Record and more. Atlas Maior has toured internationally in France, Spain, and Turkey, and has received hometown recognition with the proclamation of “Atlas Maior Day” on March 27, 2014 by Austin’s City Council. On January 31st, Atlas Maior was named Creative Ambassadors to the City of Austin for 2019 by Austin Mayor Steve Adler, and the ATX Music Division. 

"Combining elements of jazz, Middle Eastern rhythms and melodies, and afro-Brazilian beats Atlas Maior is a unique breath of fresh air with their creative instrumentation." 
- KUTX 

"Keyif demonstrates the group's maturing sonic identity by featuring original material, while also exploring their multidimensional musical influences." - All About Jazz

We are so happy to welcome Nour Darwish to the Maqam Hang! Nour offers a unique blend, showcasing both her deep operatic expertise as well as her Palestinian roots for this special night of music! 

Tuesday April 30th
8pm - Nour Darwish 
9pm - Open Jam Session 
Admission: $10 
Doors at 7:30pm 
SISTERS

You can RSVP Here!!

Soprano Nour Darwish was born in Iksal, Palestine. 
Her repertoire includes Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Euridice in Telemann’s Orpheus, Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. In addition, Nour performed in the New York premiere of Svadba by Anna Sokolovic. She made her Israeli Opera debut as Cleopatra and performed the role of Sophie in Massenet’s Werther Fall 2018. 

Nour performed as a soloist with the Haifa Symphony, the Jerusalem Symphony and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta. Her concert works include performances as soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and more. Nour also performs with Arabic repertoire accompanied by various oriental ensembles and orchestras. For the past five years she has been performing in collaboration with the Orpheus organization in Nazareth 

Nour received her Bachelor of music from the Buchmann- Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University. During her Studies she won the first prize in the school’s vocal competition. She is the recipient of excellence awards from the Buchman-Mehta School of Music, the America- Israel Cultural Foundation and the International Vocal Arts Institute. Currently Nour is a Fulbright scholar at the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College with Patricia McCaffrey as her voice teacher. 

Featuring: 
Nour Darwish - vocals 
Zafer Tawil - oud 
John Murchison - bass 
Cat Toren - piano

Sisters is at 900 Fulton St. in Brooklyn. They have good food and drinks, we recommend reserving a table for dinner — tell them you want a table in the back room. Call (347) 763-2537 for reservations.

We are so pleased to present Souren Baronian Trio. They will be playing original compositions and taksim, coming from the sounds that Souren grew up around...Middle Eastern, Jazz, and the music of his Armenian heritage.

Tuesday April 16th
8pm - Souren Baronian Trio 
9pm - Open Jam Session 
Admission: $10 
Doors at 7:30pm
SISTERS

Born in 1930 in New York City of Armenian parentage, grew up in Spanish Harlem surrounded by music, especially the sounds of Middle Eastern music, jazz and Latin genres. Barely a teenager, he would sneak into the jazz clubs on 52nd Street and listen to Bird and Diz and the other great musicians of the day. His greatest early inspiration was the "Prez," Lester Young. He later studied for many years with the legendary jazz teacher Lennie Tristano and was at the same time mentored on the G-clarinet by the extraordinary Turkish master Safet Gundeger, who was then playing in the 8th Avenue clubs in "Greek Town" during the hedyay of New York's Middle Eastern music scene in the 1950s, another of Souren's main haunts. He would soon be playing in all those clubs himself. Souren is solidly rooted in both Middle Eastern/Balkan idioms and jazz, and may have been the first to create a "fusion" of these two genres in the late 1950s, long before "world music" swept the globe. His subsequent work with his group Taksim from the mid 1970s to the present represents the most sophisticated, compelling, authentic synthesis of these two musical universes to date. He has performed and recorded with countless renowned musicians, including, to mention only a tiny handful: "Cannonball" Adderley, Phil Woods, Joe Beck, Paul Motian, Don Cherry, Paul Winter and Carla Bley on the jazz side; and Oudi Hrant, Mustafa Kandirali, Kadri Sencalar, and Tasos Halkias on the "Mediterranean" side of the equation. A multi-instrumentalist reed player and percusionist and master teacher, his main wind instruments are the G-Clarinet and the Soprano Sax and many traditional flutes, including especially the duduk and kaval . He is especially sought after as a percussion teacher, and he has taught many musicians how to play the dumbek and the tambourine at music camps and privately. Souren is going stronger than ever in his 80s, traveling much of the year to play and teach in the U.S. and in Europe in a wide range of settings, and continues doing gigs with his trio Transition and with the current incarnation of Taksim.

Featuring:  
Souren Baronian - Clarinet / Soprano / Duduk / Kaval / Riq  
Lee Baronian - Percussion  
Adam Good - Oud

Sisters is at 900 Fulton St. in Brooklyn. They have good food and drinks, we recommend reserving a table for dinner — tell them you want a table in the back room. Call (347) 763-2537 for reservations.

We are thrilled to announce Brooklyn Maqam's 1st Anniversary Concert!  On March 31st, we will cap our first year of programming with a full night of music at Roulette, featuring three of the top Arabic musical groups from in and around NYC: Takht al-Nagham featuring Syrian mutrib Wajde Ayub, the Tarab Ensemble, and Nano Raies.  We are amazed at the response we've gotten from audiences and musicians this year, and already have plans for a lot more wonderful music this year.  We can't wait to celebrate it all with you on March 31st. 

Tickets are on sale now, and advance tickets are at a discount, so get yours now!  

You can RSVP Here!! 

Brooklyn Maqam 1st Anniversary Concert 
Sunday March 31st, 2019 
7pm (Doors at 6pm) 

Roulette Intermedium 
509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217

We are so happy to host Megumi and Friends for the next Maqam Hang!

Tuesday March 12th 
8pm - Megumi & Friends
9pm - Open Jam Session  
Admission: $10  
Doors at 7:30pm  
SISTERS 

You can RSVP Here!!

Megumi & Friends is where Megumi Saruhashi shares her compositions in her tireless search for finding unity within diversity in people and music. From Carnegie Hall to refugee camps in the Middle East, Brooklyn-based violinist and composer Megumi Saruhashi has delivered her music to people of all circumstances around the globe. Megumi’s wide range of influences includes Arabic music, jazz, classical, Argentinian tango, contemporary gospel, minimalism, and more. She has studied extensively with masters in all those styles. Megumi & Friends is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council.

Megumi Saruhashi, violin & compositions 
Brandon Terzic, oud 
John Murchison, bass 
Jeremy Smith, percussion

Sisters is at 900 Fulton St. in Brooklyn. They have good food and drinks, we recommend reserving a table for dinner — tell them you want a table in the back room. Call (347) 763-2537 for reservations.

This month we are happy to welcome Tomchess & Bandit Hat Quartet for our next Maqam Hang.

Tuesday February 26th 
8pm - Tomchess & Bandit Hat Quartet 
9pm - Open Jam Session 
Admission: $10 
Doors at 7:30pm 
SISTERS

You can RSVP Here!!

Since 2011 Tomchess has used his Bandit Hat musical configurations to explore discovery, invention and spontaneity within compositionally focused improvisation towards creating a wild, beautiful, functional; authentically meaningful music in the present moment. Having played and recorded with some of the most esteemed players in the improvisational and Jazz scene (Dewey Redman, Butch Morris, Pharoah Sanders, Drew Gress, Ronald Shannon Jackson), as well as Morrocan Sintarist Hassan Hakmoun and deeply studied the Near Eastern, and North African traditions his syncretic sound encompasses the tonal palette, rhythms, and forms of these traditional musics as well as focusing on the transcendent unity of all human culture while never losing sight of his American roots and the importance and freedom of improvisation.

Featuring: 
Will McEvoy - Upright Bass 
Dan Kurfirst - Percussion 
Jake Wise - Clarinet 
Tomchess - Oud/Ney/Morsing/Composition 

Sisters is at 900 Fulton St. in Brooklyn. They have good food and drinks, we recommend reserving a table for dinner — tell them you want a table in the back room. Call (347) 763-2537 for reservations.

photo courtesy of Shelly Thomas Photography

We are so pleased to be welcoming back vocalist and oudist George Ziadeh to perform another Maqam Hang. He will be performing a set of tarab material from legendary artists such as Um Kulthum and Mohamed Abdel Wahab. We are also so thrilled to announce he will be joined by special guest Hamid Al-Saadi for part of the set. Hamid Al-Saadi is one of the more renowned and last living masters of Iraqi maqam in the world today. 

Tuesday February 12th
8pm - George Ziadeh (with special guest Hamid Al-Saadi) 
9pm - Open Jam Session 
Admission: $10 
Doors at 7:30pm 

You can RSVP Here!!

George Ziadeh was born and raised in Birzeit, Palestine, and pursued music from a young age. In 1986 he moved to the United States, where he studied ‘oud with Simon Shaheen and classical singing and voice with Youssef Kassab, with whom he has toured extensively across the country. George has performed and lectured with such ensembles and institutions as the University of Chicago’s Middle East Music Ensemble with Issa Boulos, the University of Colorado (Boulder), Alwan for the Arts, the United Nations (invited by Kofi Annan), and annually at the Columbia University Department of Ethnomusicology. In 2008, George was a featured solo and ensemble performer in the “Brooklyn Maqam” Festival of Arab Music. From 1995 to 1997 George taught at the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Ramallah and at Birzeit University. George is considered an authority in maqam and Arab classical repertoire. 

George Ziadeh - vocals, oud 
Sami Abu Shumays - violin 
Johnny Farraj - riq 
John Murchison - double bass 
w/ special guest, Hamid Al-Saadi 

Sisters is at 900 Fulton St. in Brooklyn. They have good food and drinks, we recommend reserving a table for dinner — tell them you want a table in the back room. Call (347) 763-2537 for reservations.